Monday, May 20, 2013

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Greetings friends. Please pardon the March-long hiatus here at GC. Thanks to the generous expertise of a couple of new friends in Australia (Progress Blog) and Europe, GC is blazing the trail toward greener pastures by migrating content fancy new site: ghostcapital.org. We're still under construction right now, but hope to be ready to lauch by mid April. Stay tuned!

And by the way, a serious RIP to the peerless experimental shares at Mutant Sounds. I simply can't express the debt of gratitude that GC owes to you. It was an inspiring and enlightening ride. Thank you so much.

Sunday, February 17, 2013

"This historic recording is the first part of an important four-volume documentation of the popular music of Northeast Brazil,Música Popular do Nordeste. It was conceptualized and realized by the producer,Marcus Pereira, through his Discos Marcus Pereira, which also produced several other recordings devoted to the preservation of Brazilian music. The Quinteto Violado was charged with the research for the whole series, also participating as a supporting group. This first volume brings the lively rhythm of the frevo in its varied styles (frevo-canção; frevo de rua, with original arrangements performed by the Banda Municipal do Recife; frevo de bloco; and even the unprejudiced frevo elétrico, or electric frevo, performed by the Trio Elétrico Tapajós) and the most important composers in this genre (Nelson Ferreira, Capiba, Irmãos Valença, João Santiago, Luís Gonzaga de Figueiredo, Ademir Araújo, Geraldo Santos, and Luís Bandeira). While the artistic merits of the singer Zélia Barbosa and the quality of the recording process may be questioned, this is a fundamental piece of research, and a winner of the most important prizes of its period (Estácio de Sá, granted by the Image and Sound Museum of Rio de Janeiro, and Noel Rosa, from the Association of Press Critics of São Paulo)." (Allmusic)

A sunny showcase of diverse frevo styles out of Recife in NE Brasil. Its also yet another proper gem kindly lent to GC by one DJ Cuica. Big ups! Check this Trio Eletrico track, below. Bonkers! I'm only sorry I couldn't get this up before Carnival. So it goes. Enjoy it, or maybe even don't (for Lent).

The debut record from righteous Afro-Bahamian songwriter Macfarlane Gregory Anthony Mackey, aka Exuma. His earliest work is an unreal melange of heavy folk dirges, pounding junkanoo ruckus, and the groaning incantations of mythically just, voudoun enlivened cataclysms of spiritual and material oppressions in our brave new world. Proper chant down Babylon vibes. Exuma's records have long been a staple of the countless hauntologically-minded and/or whateverly freak-folked RSS electroducts we've been privy too for years, now. I know I've dropped him here, before. Hot on the heels of GC's recent Exuma II drop, here's a lossless/320 upgrade, ripped by yours truly with the help of my friend DJ Cuica, who kindly lent it my way to share the love of this astounding record. Huge thanks! Full scans included. Enjoy.

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

I’m very pleased to be dropping this 4th installment of Ghost Capital’s mixtape series for Aquarium Drunkard. This'll be my first mix in nearly a year. I'd also like to dedicate it to my valentine's sweetheart, Alley. "Husenek fa masher..." ♥*The cover art is from Paul Heismann's Nude Abstraction, 1939

Sunday, January 27, 2013

"Javad Maroufi (جواد معروفی) was born in Tehran in 1919. He was one of the first musicians who chose to perform Persian music on the piano.
Piano and violin were brought to Persia during the reign of the Qajar King Nassereddin-Shah. In the beginning, these instruments could only be found in the royal palaces and the homes of the nobility. Qolamreza Salar Moazez, Motamedolmolk Yahyaian, and Mahmoud Mofakham were among the first musicians who introduced the piano in Persia. Alinaqi Vaziri taught piano in his music school, and later, prominent musicians like Moshirhomayoun Shahrdar, Hossein Ostovar, Morteza Mahjoubi, and Javad Maroufi were the ones who were admired by the lovers of this instrument and by ordinary people.
Maroufi was the son of Moussa Maroufi, a renowned player of the tar. Mousa was the best student of Darvish Khan and Alinaqi Vaziri. He paid special attention to his son Javad’s musical education. After completing elementary school, Javad Maroufi attended Alinaqi Vaziri's School of Music. He started with the tar, but turned to the piano after a few years.
Maroufi graduated from Vaziri’s School of Music in 1932. He went on to receive a diploma from the Tehran Conservatory, where he studied Western music. He believed that, in order to be able to play Persian music on the piano, one should also master the techniques of Western music.
Maroufi began working at Radio Iran when it was established in 1941. He collaborated closely with the great Rouhollah Khaleghi as a piano soloist, as well as an arranger of works of other composers. He taught piano, music theory, and solfege at the School of National Music for many years. He also composed many original works for piano solo.
Maroufi passed away in 1994." (Rouhollah Khaleghi Artistic Center)Here's a much needed re-rip of this wistful, yet contemplative, solo set of Persian piano compositions by Javād Ma'roufi. Golden Dreams is a longtime personal favorite from my collection, highly recommended, we'll say, for any other homeless wanderers who've found solace in the sounds of Tsegue Maryam Guebrou. Romantic regional piano solos; Bartok's Romanian Folk Dances, as another example, are slowly becoming a strong fascination, here. Do any discerning readers out there have further recommendations?

Thursday, January 24, 2013

I fully endorse this slamming soundcloud mix put together for Hands In The Dark by Marc Meltzer of Lumerians. Heavy jams, kids. You might catch a couple of choice tracks sourced from Ghost-Capital, if you're listening close. (Sorry, no tracklist just yet) Dig it!

Monday, January 21, 2013

Another great LP graciously lent to GC by one Mr.Jason Urick. This fresh set of Ivoirienne funk was recorded at Studio JBZ in Abidjan, 1982. Haven't found much of anything in the way of group or artist bios, but more fine sounds from Stanley Murphy & Les Grands can be enjoyed at the always outstanding Oro blog.

Sunday, January 20, 2013

'High Water Recording Company is proud to introduce the first record by Waynell Jones, an artist with a truly distinctive sound. His music is downhome blues flavored with country and wester, modern rhythm and blues, and old-time songster material. It is a sound forged by years of performing music for a living on the streets of his home town of Henderson, Tennessee, playing for every kind of audience, black and white, young and old. Waynell was born in 1926 near Henderseon in rural Chester County and had lived there and in nearby Humboldt, Tennessee, his entire life. All of his thirty-nine aunts and uncles played instruments, and by the age of fifteen Waynell was playing guitar. He played for house parties and country picnics before becoming a street musician. For the past eighteen years he has been employed at Freed-Hardeman College in Henderson and now plays blues mostly for students and at special programs at the college. He is also the guitarist for the Gospel Travelers, a local community singing group. His years of performing in the community and at the college have made him one of Henderson's best known and best loved citizens. Both songs on this record are ones that he put together himself. "Jaybird Boogie" is the first song he ever made up. He was sitting on a country store porch playing his guitar, and the owner offered him a soft drink if he would make up a piece called "jaybird Boogie." When Waynell finished, the man gave him a whole case of drinks!' (David Evans, cover notes)

Saturday, January 19, 2013

"Exuma, the Obeah Man, was born in Cat Island, Bahamas and christened as Tony McKay; he grew up through Canaan Lane off Shirley Street, Nassau, Bahamas.
Drawing on the traditional Bahamian folk songs, the infectious beat of Junkanoo, ring play, myths and linguistic idioma, Exuma, through his musical recordings, performances and paintings, has promoted Bahamian heritage and extended Bahamian music throughout the world moreso than any other contemporary Bahamian recording artist." (Nina Simone Database)

Righteous Afro-Bahamian songwriter Macfarlane Gregory Anthony Mackey, aka Exuma, sang it with depth. At times, he comes on like a man possessed, defiantly exorcising himself. His earliest work is an unreal melange of heavy folk dirges, pounding junkanoo ruckus, and the groaning incantations of mythically just, voudoun enlivened cataclysms of spiritual and material oppressions in our brave new world. Proper chant down Babylon vibes. Exuma's records have long been a staple of the countless hauntologically-minded and/or whateverly freak-folked RSS electroducts we've been privy too for years, now. I know I've dropped him here, before. This is my flac rip of Exuma II. Baal destroys me. Some contend that this record's uneven. Mayhaps itsmore of a for madmen only kind of thing. Nahmean? Anyway, I hope you enjoy it. Paz.

Saturday, December 29, 2012

"Between sounds of music there are gaps of silence. The authentic music consists not of sounds, but of the gaps. Sounds come and go; those gaps remain. And music can make you aware of those gaps more beautifully than anything else; hence I have to say that music comes next to silence. But it is possible even the musician may not be aware of it, unless his music is his meditation too. Then, soon, the shift from sounds to silence." (Bagwan Shree Rajneesh, aka Osho)

“From Basho’s Pond, past Rajneesh Mandir, winding through downtown Rajneeshpuram, and out to the airport were people. People dressed in red, playing musical instruments, singing, dancing, waving goodbye to their Master. The faces! The faces! Musicians followed the car all the way to the airport, some running all the way carrying their Brazilian drums. I saw faces of people who years before had been dull, and now were transformed, shiny and alive. Osho sat and namasted His people for the last time in Rajneeshpuram.” (excerpt from Diamond Days With Osho, by Ma Prem Shunyo)Pan-Asian instrumental new age steppers, featuring our man Deuter, himself, in full-tilt metaphysical enlightenment mode. A woodwound percussive medley for us Tomorrow People. Ecstatic-dancing to Pure Moods/Tubular Bells is admittedly something of the vibe, here, but...And blame it on personal Rajneesh fascination; I've been dropping into Basho's Pond here lately, a bit more than I might even like to admit. These tracks were all recorded during live Satsang celebrations at the now-infamous Rajneeshpuram in eastern Oregon, late 1985. A "cult favorite", if you will.

Friday, December 28, 2012

Another freshly ripped installment of late-90's artifacts culled from the remains of my long-lost, recently found, cd collection from mine own younger days. These two drops offer up some of the weirder long-form, lo-fi concrete experimentations out of the OTC camp. Out-of-print rarities, both.

The highfalutin lo-fi interactivity that Olivia Tremor Control first explored with the ambient bonus disc included on early pressings of Dusk at Cubist Castle reached its apex with the vinyl version of "The Opera House." A quadraphonic odyssey spread across two 7"s, each featuring the titular psych-pop nugget that leads off Cubist Castle backed with differing musique concrète experiments clocking in at just under 15 minutes apiece, the presentation allows for listeners to create unique songs by playing back the records simultaneously in various temporal combinations and RPM speeds. Similar in conception to the Flaming Lips' Zaireeka, "The Opera House" requires three turntables for maximum mindf*ck action, but the extra effort is worth it. Like those old "Choose Your Own Adventure" books on which kids of the '80s grew up, the paths and possibilities "The Opera House" lays out are endlessly labyrinthine and completely immersive. (Jason Ankeny, Allmusic)

""The Late Music, was born out of a small message hidden in the liner notes of The Olivia Tremor Control's Music from the Unrealized Film Script, Dusk at Cubist Castle, requesting that people submit recordings of dream descriptions to the band. The album consisted of seven untitled pieces incorporating the submissions with different other ambient sounds and musical fragments. (Wikipedia)

привет

Welcome to Ghostcapital. This blog is an effort to share the love of rare, under-appreciated and oddball music of many kinds. I offer album rips, gratis- mostly from vinyl. Sometimes other stuff, too. If you have an issue with your music being here, then kindly let me know. I strongly encourage everyone to purchase good albums from your favorite independent retailer. Real, brick & mortar record stores are truly where its at. Dig it.